CHARLESTON, S.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) women's soccer team recorded its seventh shutout of the season and third-straight clean sheet with a 4-0 victory over The Citadel Friday afternoon at WLI Field.
The seven shutouts match the 2021 season mark. With the win, UNCG is now outscoring SoCon opponents 16-5.
From senior Gabi Santora
"I am just so proud of every single person and their resilience. It's not easy coming back from a tough few conference games knowing it could have gone the other way. We all know what we are capable of, so it's nice to see it all coming together at the right time."
How it Happened:
With ten minutes left in the half, the Spartans worked quickly through The Citadel defense and took advantage of the open passing lanes.
Gabi Santora turned with her first touch following a through ball from
Dalani Stephens and fed the ball into classmate
Maddy Gilhool. With pressure on her back, Gilhool made a quick turn and placed the ball past the Bulldogs goalkeeper for a 1-0 advantage in the 36
th minute.
In the 51
st minute, junior
Caroline Woods took on a Bulldog one-on-one and found classmate
Dalani Stephens who ripped the ball from the top of the 18-yard box to the back left corner for a 2-0 advantage. Ten minutes later, the Spartans served their sixth corner kick of the game and the ball was cleared by the Bulldogs. UNCG's
Chloe Lausell reserved a long ball from about 40 yards out. Woods settled the ball and struck it inside the 18-yard box, finding the right upper 90 for a 3-0 advantage.
Six minutes later, freshman
Ava Kiss found herself one-on-one with a Bulldog defender and slipped the ball to junior
Hannah Morton. Morton who beat a defender one-on-one finding the back right corner of the net for a 4-0 advantage.
The Citadel refused to go down and had four shots on goal in the last 15 minutes of play, where senior goalkeeper
Abby Buchholz made all the stops to hold on for the combined clean sheet.
By the Numbers:
- Gilhool scored her seventh goal of the season.
- Gilhool's seven goals are the most in a season by a Spartan since Cienna Rideout scored 14 in 2018.
- Stephens recorded her first-collegiate goal, while Woods netted her first tally of the season.
- Morton scored her fourth goal of the season.
- Santora, Woods, Lausell, and Kiss each registered an assist.
- Spartan's goalkeepers Emma Malone and Abby Buchholz combined for a shutout
- UNCG had six corner kicks compared to The Citadel's four.
Records:
UNCG: 8-7-2, 4-3-1 SoCon
The Citadel: 8-8-0, 3-5-0 SoCon
Up Next:
The Spartans conclude the regular season with a road trip to Macon, Georgia to face off against Mercer on Sunday, October 23 for a 2 p.m. battle. Following the game, UNCG and the rest of the SoCon teams will find out their fates in the 2022 Southern Conference Women's Soccer Tournament.
